Anything is better than nothing. I carry a G23 concealed. It is a fine weapon and has never, I mean NEVER, failed to go bang, in thousands of rounds. Reliability is requirement #1. Drawing a sidearm in a high stress situation goes to gross motor and muscle memory. Choosing the flavor of the week weapon is not the best idea in these situations. Train with one weapon system, carry the same, and put its operation in muscle memory.

Be aware that the bad guy's are sociopath's, they practice (yes it's true) and many are even psychopath's using robbery as an excuse to hurt or kill someone.A series of prison interviews has shown that over 65% of criminals using guns are now beginning to practice..ranges have increased in gunfights and the bad guys are using backup armed with AK's.If a person chooses to open carry that is OK but if things go bad and there happens to be a off duty law enforcement officer (local, state or federal) they are liable to put a few in you just to be safe.Look at all the off duty officers that get tagged every year, even flashing their badges and you will see what I mean.Life is NOT fair..when things go bad you may have good and bad guys shooting at you if you open carry.Any bad guy who wanted to commit violence would simply execute you first and not even have a moment of hesitation..if they plan to kill, you are just a speed bump and have lost the advantage of surprise..these people think nothing about taking out a uniformed police officer by walking up and assassinating them.. then what chance would a civilian have using open carry.You can argue all you want but "Life is NOT fair".Away from civilization it has it's place and is a very good idea.However since the first rule of gunfighting is "having a gun" then it is better than nothing..just don't expect to survive against really bad guys. (some of these turds have seen more actions than our people in Iraq and Afganistan).There have been times when I simply walked out of a stop & rob and called the local police to report bad people ready to do bad things..by the time patrol got there the bad guys had herded everyone in the back and may have been ready to kill them. If I had tried to step in the bad guys back up playing a customer would have taken me out.Be careful out there.Art

.One thing I will say now, just having a gun doesn't guarantee victory in a gunfight.

I will readily agree with that statement! But not having a gun in a gun fight GUARANTEES loosing it!

LOL!

Steel, I hate to disagree with you, but, I do.

I hate knives. A person with a knife is far more dangerous at close range than a person with a gun. Think about it, a knife never jams, never runs out of ammo, and can do more damage to a body than any 45 poking a hole in meat.

There has been more than one incident where the knife weilder won the fight (if there was a fight) over a person with a gun. If a person has a knife in hand and is within 21 feet of a person with a gun in a holster, the odds are in the favor of the knife holder. The reactionary gap, to percieve the threat, formulate a plan, and put it into action is longer than the time it takes for the knife holder, who already has a plan, to close that distance and start cutting.

This isn't some theory I came up with. I have seen it proven many times in many classes, and have seen and read more than one incident, where the person with a gun lost to a person with a knife.

Situational awareness is the key to survival.

Life's concerns should be about the 120lb pack your trying to get to the top of the mountain, and not the rock in your boot.

Also, your last sentence is spot on. Being aware of your surroundings and having a plan before you set foot out the door, is paramount. If you wait to react to a situation, you're likely not going to end up on the winning side. Know the your closest exit, closest place of cover, alternate weapons (ie things that could be used as weapons in lieu of a gun, knife etc).

That and practice, A LOT!

Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum

"And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts. And I looked, and behold a pale horse, and his name that sat on him was Death, and hell followed with him."

For daily, all the time carry, a Ruger LCR .357 loaded with 125gr .38 SP +P loads is the one. No slide, no safety - just pull the trigger

For out in the forests or where possible threats may be large animals a Ruger 4 5/8 inch .44 Mag Super Blackhawk loaded with either 250 gr Sierra jacketed target bullets or 270 gr Speer Deep Curl bullets is the one. I also carry bear spray.

I have a Kimber 1911 that I open carry at the range but for me it is too big to easily conceal and not as powerful as the .44 Mag. Decades ago, I toted a 1911 around when performing my daily chores in S.E. Asia (cocked & locked).

Other thoughts - when I drove a cab I carried an 7 inch U.S. Ontario knife - using a diamond hone a razor edge can easily be put on them. Some time ago (this really happened) a tourist in the Olympic National Park in Washington state was gored to death by a mountain goat - he bled out from a deep stab wound in the thigh. In my local area of N. Idaho there have been several moose attacks. Numerous violent felonies occur on a regular basis within 3 miles of where I live.

On occassions I carry a Ruger Mini 14 locked up and concealed in my car trunk. For back east, in various "peoples democratic workers paradise" states when fishing for striped bass I have a large can of pepper spray and a large fillet knife (thats because I only catch big bass)

I hate violence and like to peacefully go about my business and when at all possible cheerfully go out of my way to avoid it - my plan.

I'd like to see S&W bring back their titanium hammerless J-frame .32 H&R Magnum, and it would be even better in .327 Magnum. It had 6 shots vs. 5 of a .38spl, and the same power as a .38spl. It would make a great pocket carry pistol, especially in a coat or jacket pocket.

I used to live 2 blocks from 2 corners in the city that had more street robberies than any other location in the city. I always thought it would be better to have my hand on my weapon in the front pocket of my coat if approached by a street robber, than to make that overt action for my weapon. A hammerless revolver has nothing to snag or hang up on your clothes, and could be fired multiple times from the pocket. Can't do that with your little .380 auto.

Life's concerns should be about the 120lb pack your trying to get to the top of the mountain, and not the rock in your boot.

Given that there are now small, reliable locked breech 9mm's available there is less of a need to carry a .25, .32 or .380.I am 5/5 and can carry a Kahr P9 or S&W Shield in a pocket holster pretty much everywhere but the beach, YMMV.Eight rounds of quality 9mm beats six of .25 acp any day.Health problems can prevent me from carrying a full size, all steel 1911 but not my 9mm.A nosey individual once asked me what I had in my pocket and I told him a really pretty lady had just gone bye, he shut up and left me alone.With a particularly baggy style of pants I can carry my M&P 45c and infact have carried the 45c and the P9 without anyone noticing.It took awhile and quite a few holsters to find what worked best for my daily carry needs, everyone is different build wise and needs to find what works best for them.Art

It sounds like this whole concealed carry thing requires all sorts of decision making.

You should move to California and the decision making will be done for you. I think the official recommendation of our police officers for those occasions when you are being attacked by a violent criminal is to bend over and push...

Or was it a recommendation by the mayor of Los Angeles? I forget exactly.

.One thing I will say now, just having a gun doesn't guarantee victory in a gunfight.

I will readily agree with that statement! But not having a gun in a gun fight GUARANTEES loosing it!

LOL!

Steel, I hate to disagree with you, but, I do.

I hate knives. A person with a knife is far more dangerous at close range than a person with a gun. Think about it, a knife never jams, never runs out of ammo, and can do more damage to a body than any 45 poking a hole in meat.

There has been more than one incident where the knife weilder won the fight (if there was a fight) over a person with a gun. If a person has a knife in hand and is within 21 feet of a person with a gun in a holster, the odds are in the favor of the knife holder. The reactionary gap, to percieve the threat, formulate a plan, and put it into action is longer than the time it takes for the knife holder, who already has a plan, to close that distance and start cutting.

This isn't some theory I came up with. I have seen it proven many times in many classes, and have seen and read more than one incident, where the person with a gun lost to a person with a knife.

Situational awareness is the key to survival.

Since it is virtually impossible to get a concealed carry license in California, I have focused quite a bit on becoming proficient with a knife since a folding knife is still legal to have with you under most circumstances.

I have seen the 21ft number mentioned a number of times and it is probably a decent estimate when not very trained person with a concealed handgun is facing a reasonably trained and determined attacker with a knife.

Unfortunately, the dynamic changes if the attacker has a gun and you are protecting yourself with a knife. Thankfully, most thugs around here barely know which side of the gun the bullet comes out of, but the day they start practicing, California is going to hell in a handbasket.

It sounds like this whole concealed carry thing requires all sorts of decision making.

You should move to California and the decision making will be done for you. I think the official recommendation of our police officers for those occasions when you are being attacked by a violent criminal is to bend over and push...

Or was it a recommendation by the mayor of Los Angeles? I forget exactly.

ILya

ROFLMAO!! My wife is from Ca. and I spent some time out there. Laws and politics there are just plain rediculous! nothing personal, but I think I'll just keep my arse right here in Ga.!

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